The Olympus EP3 and 12mm F/2 Shoot Some Video

Ever since the first test in our full review, you’ve been asking for more video samples from the Olympus EP3 (or as the EP 3, E-P3 and EP-3 as you like to call it. So without further adieu, here they are with the 12mm F/2 (12mm F2) being tested. Samples and analysis are after the jump.

Video Samples

Here’s one of my good friend Brian Bennett talking about his own homebrewed beer. Video was shot in full 1080i.

This video of the Olympus EP2 was shot using the EP3 in 720p 30p AVI mode. The lens attached is the 17mm F/2.8. It was placed on the Vanguard Nivelo tripod.

Analysis

It’s worth it to note that the camera’s image stabilization is actually quite good. However, one should also consider that this was filmed with a 12mm lens which acts like a 24mm on this camera. At anything that wide, mostly any camera shake will be compensated for in the exposure settings.

What both Brian and I found weird were the color shifts at times when shooting the video of him. A part of me wonders if it had anything to do with the ISO settings, I was shooting this at ISO 1600 (and it looks damned good to me.)

It’s not all about the image quality though; sound is also an important factor. The sound from this camera was good enough for most uses, but it picks up the sound of whoever is behind the camera much better. The microphone can also pick up the sounds of the lens being manually focused. In a case like this, perhaps a follow focus would have worked better.

Unfortunately, the camera’s amazing touch to focus feature isn’t available in video mode. That’s a factor that’s absolutely killing it to be quite honest with you.

Even worse, working with the MTS AVCHD codec is also a pain to do. On my Macbook, it required me to download some freeware software and then convert it into a format that will work in iMovie. It didn’t even work on my PC! My PC used to be my editing machine back in college when I used Sony Vegas Platinum Pro.

So would I use the Olympus EP3 for video? To be honest, I prefer my EP2’s easier to work with AVI files and it takes wonderful video quality. If not, I’ll opt for my 5D Mk II or 7D since I have an investment of lenses into it. But I’m a special user: my opinion may not be yours.

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